Lady Bison win two at home

Zach Urness / Leader Staff

It wasn't the home game they had hoped for, but the SKC women made the most of it, beating the University of Great Falls JV team twice over the weekend at the Ronan Event Center. The Lady Bison won the first game 74-61 on Friday night and took the second game Saturday afternoon, 66-63.

The grand opening of the newly constructed Joe McDonald Health and Sports Complex as a venue for SKC basketball had to wait because of an unfinished floor, so the Lady Bison took the floor in Ronan where they've played home games the past few years.

The first official home game scheduled for the McDonald Complex is for Dec. 2-3 against the University of Montana Western JV, but the team is expecting to be able to get on the floor by Nov. 26, and hopes to get the keys to the gym on the 28th.

"We are very excited about it," said women's head coach and athletic director Juan Perez. "It's really going to help us to improve the program. It's very exciting for the college and community as well."

Despite the lack of their first true home game, a good crowd showed up on Friday night to watch the defending National Tribal champions play. And they didn't disappoint, jumping out to a lead that was as high as 20 points at the half and cruising to a 13-point victory.

"We worked on our zone defense a lot coming into the game," said Perez. "I thought we looked a lot better."

The Lady Bison took advantage of a pronounced advantage inside against the Lady Argos, led by Carla McLean who clogged up the lane, grabbed rebounds and led all scorers with 23 points on the night. SKC was also fluid on the perimeter as Ida Mountain Chief slashed her way through the lane for baskets and ended the game with 14 points.

Angie Redstar hit a three pointer late in the first half to take a 46-34 lead.

Suzi Kirkaldie followed McLean in scoring with 15 points for the game. Redstar also had eight points, Dani Augare had six and Genevieve Cochran and Racquel Little Plume had four points each.

The second game was a much closer affair as SKC struggled through much of the first half and went into half-time down by three points. But thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by Angie Redstar, the Lady Bison stampeded back and held off Great Falls by a slim three-point margin.

Former Charlo standout Rhondell Esterby scored five points for Great Falls in the final minutes of play but the Lady Argos simply ran out of time in the end.

Dani Augare led SKC in scoring with 19 points and Mountain Chief added 11 points. Genevieve Cochran and Amy Stiffarm combined for 16 points. Suzi Kirkaldie and Angie Redstar added six points apiece and Carla McLean had eight for the game.

"We played pretty well compared to our first few games," said Perez, noting that the team brought an 0-6 record into the two game set. "It was nice to break the ice a little bit for the team."

The Lady Bison will head back out on the road for games against Walla Walla CC and Wenatchee CC before taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The Bison were on the road this week, and a reporter was unable to reach coach Zachary Camel prior to deadline.